“I think he has done what he has been asked to do,” Jerry Jones said after a news conference in Arlington to announce the new Cowboys stadium as host site for the 2014 NCAA Men’s Final Four. “If anybody understands the kinds of things you deal with to get better, it’s probably going to be an ongoing thing. I do know that he has a good sense of where he is and how he got there.”
However, NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said the league has “nothing to report on it at this time.”
Pacman Jones, who will return to practice Monday, will be eligible to play on Dec. 7 when the Cowboys play at Pittsburgh, Jerry Jones said.
“I have been working this week on the procedure of having him back. It’s just a matter of the commissioner’s decision and the commissioner has made his decision,” Jerry Jones said. “He [Pacman] will be at our complex this week under some circumstances, but he won’t be practicing or conditioning with the team the next two or three days.”
Pacman Jones was suspended by commissioner Roger Goodell on Oct. 14 for at least four games after another violation of the league’s personal conduct policy. Goodell said at the time that he would review Adam Jones' case after the Washington game on Nov. 16.
After review, Goodell has essentially tacked on two more games to the suspension, making it a total of six games. Jerry Jones said there is still some conjecture about what Adam Jones will be allowed to do this week before returning to practice on Monday. However, he said Adam Jones will continue to be on a short leash as far as the league is concerned. The Cowboys are just hoping he truly gets it this time.
The latest suspension came a week after he was involved in an alcohol-related altercation with one of his bodyguards at the Joule Hotel in Dallas. The incident came six weeks after he was reinstated from a 17-month suspension for repeated violations of the NFL's personal conduct policy.
Jerry Jones also said that Pacman Jones, who completed an alcohol rehabilitation program in Boston last week, will no longer have the services of the club’s bodyguards.
"I have had a bite of that," Jerry Jones said. "My own man [let me down]. I am going to try something different."
Jerry Jones said he understands the risk the team is taking by bringing Pacman Jones back and chancing him letting them down again. He said he is impressed by how Pacman Jones handled his recent suspension. But he said that "he's got a long way to go before he has clear sailing."
Still Jones said it's on Pacman Jones to turn his life around this time and keep it that way.
"You can draw your own conclusion," Jerry Jones said. "But the answer is absolutely."
Some of Pacman Jones’ teammates were already anticipating his return.
“I support Pac. I talked to him on the phone frequently,” nose tackle Tank Johnson said. “I talked to him actually after the game Sunday. He’s just champing at the bit to get back and come back and be successful. … Our team hopes he does [return]. He knows we’re all with him and we’re never going to turn our back on him. As soon as he gets back, it will be business as usual. I can’t wait to have 21 next to me in the locker.”
Quarterback Tony Romo emphasized what Jones has done on the field.
"When he was here he worked very hard and he helped us,” Romo said. “He’s a good football player and I don’t see why you wouldn’t welcome a guy back that works hard on the practice field."
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